https://youtu.be/RAiwgYInr7A

A few weeks ago after a particularly vicious post attacking me, I pondered why people hate? Not just those who have been subject to something that draws hatred, but the average person. There are many unvictimised, unharmed people who just choose to join in the hate. There doesn’t need to be a reason, just the group has a victim and they direct hate at them. I have seen this in the animal world with factory farmed battery hens who are stressed. They choose another hen and just peck at them. The others in the cage follow suit and soon you have a corpse literally hen pecked to death.

My observations conclude that hating provides a much needed release for some (unhappy) people; without doubt life can be hard and stressful and hate seems to be a coping mechanism. Whether you hate because of skin colour or hate because you simply disagree with something you saw posted, hate is the monkey that rides your back. Like any anything that brings relief or distraction, it is also addictive. To get the same feedback you have to become more angry and incensed each time. Soon you have a “two pack a day” habit with hate. You need to find more things to light your flame, or you need to become more angry at what you see.

This is what we have going on in what I have called the sewer groups. Some posts become an echo chamber where any slander is not only repeated, but amplified. When you are wrapped in the group hate zeitgeist, your other concerns and worries are pushed away for a time.

Those who disagree or inhibit the flow then become like that unfortunate chicken; a closer target for the hate. Facing either censure or ejection from the group. Thus people who have never met me demonstrate they are loyal to the group.

Another fascinating aspect is that it seems self perpetuating. I have taken posting vacations. Stopped posting for weeks on end only to discover that the vitriol has increased, they keep the candle lit even when I’m not there.

So why do I write about this? What do I gain?

Certainly I would like this to stop, but I understand for it to stop the people doing it must see the monkey on their back. They must also decide to stop allowing the adrenaline monkey to ride them. I know this is unlikely, especially given these people have been enjoying hate for years. I would also like everyone else to look for the monkey. It can be small, it can be coloured by different motives like fear of the unknown or misunderstanding, but nobody is exempt from the urge to attack with the rest of the pack and the pleasure at being part of a pack itself.

I myself cannot cast the first stone, I can only understand and so blunt the urge when I’m tempted.

https://youtu.be/RAiwgYInr7A